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Judge Orders Full Restart of DACA Program

A D.C.-based federal judge on August 3, 2018 ordered the Trump administration to restart in full the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (hereinafter “DACA”).

U.S. District Judge John Bates stated the order would be delayed until August 23, 2018 to allow the government to appeal, but he denied a Justice Department motion to reconsider his earlier decision, saying there were still deficiencies in the administration’s rationale for rescinding DACA. “The court has already once given DHS the opportunity to remedy these deficiencies — either by providing a coherent explanation of its legal opinion or by reissuing its decision for bona fide policy reasons that would preclude judicial review,” said Bates, “So it will not do so again.”

Bates in April became the third federal judge to order the administration to restart renewals for people previously approved for DACA. He also threatened to vacate the memo ending DACA — and thereby restore the program in full — if Trump officials could not present an adequate reason for ending it.

If the ruling goes into effect, the administration will be required to accept new applications from people who meet DACA’s eligibility requirements.